Beet Blueberry Muffins

McKel Hill, MS, RDN, LDN

Founder

First off, happy February! I want to set the intention for the blog this month- very purposefully centered around the concept of love. Since the theme of this month’s posts are centered around love, self love, with a touch of women’s health (sorry boys), it was only fitting to share a recipe that embodied love from a personal sense and hoping it’ll reignite a time when food reminded you of a particularly loving time in your life. We’ll be talking about all things “love” this month in the form of wellness, recipes, and more– if you have certain topics in mind you’d like to see me cover, just comment below, I’d love to hear your ideas. But first, beets and blueberries…in a muffin? It tastes way better than it might sound, you guys. I promise.

BEETS AND BLUES

Food isn’t just fuel, it’s social, mental, emotional, and full of memories and tradition. I remember, my parents, especially my dad would always make blueberry muffins in the morning. It was a sweet gesture and it always brought us around the kitchen and the table on those lazy weekend mornings. Whether my parents enjoyed them with a spread of butter alongside coffee or I enjoyed them slathered in butter…with sprinkled sugar…while dunking them in milk (my, have things changed nutritionally); it was a delicious morning routine that makes me think and feel love when I’m baking muffins nowadays. Taking my personal memories of blueberry muffins, I wanted to give them a little NS makeover utilizing blood building beets, inflammation fighting blueberries, and heart healthy grains like rolled oats and healthy fats like almonds to make these muffins pack a punch of nutrition AND they taste amazing.

Nutritionally speaking, beets are the beez neez. I’ve ranted about them in the Raw Beet Marinara, Through the Garden Smoothie, Beetroot Coconut Sugar Cookies, Deconstructed Beet Bourguignon, and much more– but I think these are my fav. Beets are loaded with antioxidants, particularly ones that can powerfully with helping our bodies detoxify especially our livers and blood (demystifying the word detox here folks– our bodies detox all day, everyday). Blueberries are one of my favorite berries, raspberries being the first due to their very low sugar and high fiber content; but blueberries take the cake (or muffin- lame food pun) on antioxidants. Weight per weight 1 cup of blueberries contains

So how do I enjoy these nowadays- kind of like my parents did, with coffee (with a splash of coconut milk or Coffee Elevated), coconut butter with a little sprinkle of coconut sugar and blood sugar balancing cinnamon on top! An added bonus, I love Raspberry Chia Jam on this too. Oh, and you can add about 2/3 cup of dark chocolate chips if you’re in the mood for something chocolatey– it’s sublime, I tell ya.

In a large mixing bowl, add oat and brown rice flour, chia seeds. Pour your beet mixture into this large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Next, stir in the fresh cup of blueberries, gently folding in. The batter will be thick.

Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full and repeat until all muffins are filled. Sprinkle coconut sugar on top (the 2 tablespoons from the recipe list). Bake for 16 minutes or until a tester comes out clean from the center.

Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the muffin tin, store at room temperature or in the freezer for 1 month.

THOUGHTS?

What are your favorite sweet treats, comfort food or foods that remind you of love? Let me know what you think when you give this recipe a go! Leave a comment and rate it, rating helps me continue to improve recipes for you. I love seeing what you come up with so don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #nutritionstripped on Instagram!

Love yourself- you know, like the Biebs says? You deserve to! As a Dietitian Nutritionist, my biggest mission is to help you feel the best you can and get you there through nutrition and changing your lifestyle. I’m quite literally a click away- Sign up here to start.

xx McKel

By:

McKel Hill, MS, RDN, LDN

Founder

Nutrition is our jam. Nutrition Stripped is a modern take on the science of nutrition and healthy living — making it accessible, inspirational, and simple. We believe living whole and eating well make you feel amazing.

In a large mixing bowl, add oat and brown rice flour, chia seeds. Pour your beet mixture into this large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Next, stir in the fresh cup of blueberries, gently folding in. The batter will be thick.

Fill each muffin tin about 3/4 of the way full and repeat until all muffins are filled. Sprinkle coconut sugar on top (the 2 tablespoons from the recipe list). Bake for 16 minutes or until a tester comes out clean from the center.

Let cool for 20 minutes before removing from the muffin tin, store at room temperature or in the freezer for 1 month.

Did you try it out?

Share Your Thoughts & Images

Yes you can use a chia or flax egg, they won’t be as fluffy but they should work, Kortney!

Robin | CaliGirl Cooking

These look really good! What a great idea to add beets. I’m definitely going to have to try these! XO

Anastasia

These look great! I was wondering if you have suggestions for other flour alternatives that could work instead of brown rice and oat? All purpose gluten free flour? Coconut or almond?

McKel Hill

Yes, all purpose gluten free flour would be the only substitution I’d recommend!

Kayla

Excited to try these!

McKel Hill

They’re so good Kayla!

Kelly

This was literally meant to be for me! I was looking for something to do with my leftover beets just this afternoon and then I got your e-mail for this recipe. I made them already and they are AH-MAZE-ING! They taste better than any other muffin I’ve tried! Thank you for this genius 🙂
Kelly

McKel Hill

You’re so welcome Kelly! They’re my favorite muffin thus far and I love spreading those toppings mentioned- on them 😉

Isabel Laris

Today I was searching for new recipes with gram flour, I don´t know how I find your blog, is “amaizing”!!!

Congratulations!!!

McKel Hill

So glad you enjoyed the recipe Isabel!

Cristina Aroche

I looove beets, but I’ve never thought of using them in muffins! Such an awesome idea 🙂 For sure need to try this recipe!! Thanks for sharing!

McKel Hill

You’re welcome, hope you enjoy Cristina!

Joanie

Hi Mckel!

Can I use frozen blueberries for this recipe? And would I have to defrost them before? Thank you!

caitlin

I made these with raspberries (I didn’t realize I was out of blueberries) and the GF all purpose flour and they are quite literally the best muffins I’ve ever made! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU from both my hubs & I! 🙂

Laurel

Going to make these for my mom’s birthday! Thank you! 🙂

McKel Hill

Enjoy! Added bonus is to make it with the raspberry chia jam I mentioned 😉

Rebeca

Finally gave them a try this morning and love them! Best muffin I’ve ever had, no exaggeration. I’ll add some dark chocolate next time I make them, because dark chocolate never hurts, right?! Thanks for another keeper!

McKel Hill

YASS dark chocolate never hurt anyone- and actually, they taste even better with little chocolate pieces in them 😉

Rebeca

You were right, dark chocolate makes them even more delicious!

Victoria

I love how you connected the emotional component to eating in this post, it is so true food is more than just fuel! These look divine and have been added to my make ASAP list!

McKel Hill

So glad you enjoyed this post Victoria- can’t wait for you to give them a go!

Lisa

These were so yummy!!! I subbed the brown rice flour for spelt flour and it worked nicely.

McKel Hill

Amazing Lisa! #nutritionstripped on Instagram so I can see! xM

Lisa

Done!

Jen @ sweetgreenkitchen.com

I make muffins for my family almost every week and pack mini muffins into the kid’s school lunches, so I’m always looking for ways to add in more nutrition. These are definitely going into the rotation. I also really appreciate that you’re using oat and brown rice flour here instead of resorting to a pre-mixed gluten free flour blend. I also make my own gluten free flour mixes for each recipe as my digestive system does not like xanthan gum which is in most every gluten free mix.

KC

Looooved these!!! Perfect amount of sweetness and the beet purée made them so moist! I actually ended up having to bake them at least 10 additional minutes but they came out perfect (added walnuts, too)! One little note, vanilla was listed in the ingredient list but I didn’t see it in the instructions. Thanks for another fabulous recipe!!

McKel Hill

So glad you enjoyed these KC! Thanks for the heads up on vanilla- just updated 😉 xx M (p.s. I’d love to see em’ on Instagram!)

Adele

Hi!
I was wondering if you thought these would work with frozen blueberries? Would you defrost them boots or leave them frozen?
Thank you!

McKel Hill

Great question, you can use frozen blueberries, I would just watch the bake time and you may need to bake them for an additional 5 minutes to make sure they’re cooked all the way through! Hope that helps xx M